Documents detail December lockdown of state Capitol

March 5, 2013 | AP New court documents detail why police decided to lock people out of the state Capitol in December as Michigan's contentious right-to-work law was debated.

The Lansing State Journal reports (http://on.lsj.com/WIQnHK ) documents were filed Friday in Ingham County Circuit Court, where a challenge to the law is pending.

State police Capt. Kevin McGaffigan said in a statement he made the decision amid mounting concerns over public safety. In a separate document, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said McGaffigan didn't seek input from lawmakers in the decision.

McGaffigan said he was concerned that people might be trampled or fall over a railing into the rotunda of the Capitol.

Labor unions, Democrats and others have sued to block the law, arguing that the Open Meetings Act was violated. Schuette says that's not so.